The Curious Princess
by giaparrilla
Summary: What if Regina never casted the curse? Emma is the daughter of Snow White and Prince Charming. What happens when Emma's curiosity gets the best of her and she reads about a certain Evil Queen? AU, Swan Queen for sure, no curse, G!P rated T for now.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Emma Swan was an eight year old girl who loved life. She was the daughter of King James and Queen Snow who ruled over the White Kingdom. Her mother and father loved her dearly, so much that they almost never let her out of their sight. It was kind of annoying really, being constantly watched by someone. Only when she was in her room did she have time alone, and even then there were always two guards posted outside her door at all times.

When she wasn't under their cautious watch, she was the most curious girl anyone could ever meet. She was constantly asking questions, so many questions that neither her father nor mother knew where she got that from. Whenever Snow told her she couldn't do something, she'd always question it. It wasn't to be defiant, but because she really wanted to know the reason.

So when Emma asked the two about she-who-shall-not be named, her parents began to resent this about their daughter.

"Mommy, Daddy, I have a question."

Snow bit back a smile and looked at her husband. Emma and her questions were always entertaining. "Yes sweetheart?"

Emma bit her lip nervously as she thought about how to ask them. The little girl loved to read, so much that she spent most of her time in the castle's library. Snow and Charming thought that they were being wise by putting all the books mentioning she-who-shall-not-be-named towards the top, but Emma's curiosity got the best of her and she needed to read one.

Snow and Charming awaited Emma's question eagerly, excited to answer whichever one she had next. They couldn't have prepared themselves for what was going to come out of her mouth next.

"Who is Regina and why is she called the Evil Queen?"

Emma fought every urge to tell her parents nevermind as she watched a range of emotions cross their faces.

Snow put her hand under Emma's chin and said, "Emma, Regina is someone who did very bad things. She tried to hurt mommy and daddy. You'd tell Mommy and Daddy if she was secretly trying to talk to you, right?"

Unbeknownst to Emma, Charming had secretly ordered the Royal Guard to search every inch of the castle and palace for Regina. She looked back at her mother in confusion, "What do you mean?"

Snow took this as a sign that Regina was somehow trying to contact their daughter. "Emma, Mommy needs you to tell her if Regina has been trying to contact you. Can you do that for me?

Emma finally grasped what her mother thought she was implying. Placing a steady hand on her mother's shoulder, she sighed. "Mommy, you had all the books about Regina on the top shelf of the library. I found them and read them all."

Snow sighed in relief and felt like a weight had been lifted off her shoulders. "Thank you for being honest Emma. Next time though, please ask permission before getting any books that aren't within your reach. I don't know what I would've done if you'd have hurt yourself. Also, do not go where guards cannot see you."

The little girl tried not to roll her eyes at her mother, and reluctantly accepted the hug her mother offered.

"Mommy and Daddy have to go do some work, can you go play in your room and I'll come in later and read you a bedtime story?"

Emma nodded her head, trying to bite back the tears. Because her parents were so protective of her, she rarely talked to anyone besides her parents and the guards. She had no grandparents, no relatives to talk to, and no friends. She felt like she was going to be alone forever. All that seemed to keep her company were her books, and she was beginning to run out of books.

When she got to her room, she unceremoniously plopped down onto it. "Ahhhh!" She squealed when she felt something hard beneath the covers. When she pealed back the covers to discover what it was underneath them, she saw a book she'd never seen before.

" _Once Upon a Time"_

She let her fingers glide over the smooth, brown leather cover of the book. Opening it, she saw the image of an exquisite woman dressed in regal clothing. She couldn't explain it, but she felt a pull towards the woman who was in the picture. Deciding to read the book, she opened it and began to read the story of an Evil Queen whom she'd read about in her other books.

Throughout the book, she read the stories of everyone she knew of today. All the other books she'd read about Regina painted her an evil villain who existed only to make others unhappy. While in this book she ruined happy endings, Emma learned more about this woman than she ever thought she could.

The books from her parent's castle made Snow White seem like an innocent little girl, but she actually got Regina's fiancé killed. Emma decided that she would keep reading, and try to act as normal as possible when around her parents. If she asked them about Snow White and the Evil Queen, they'd surely want to know where she'd gotten the information to form a question like that from. Knowing they'd take her book, she decided to hide it in her closet.

When she heard a knock on the door she shoved the book under her bed, and waited for her parents to come inside her room. Pulling her covers up over her body, she turned her body to face her parents. "Hi Mommy, Hi Daddy."

Charming smiled at his little girl, "Hi Emma, ready for bed?"

Nodding, she smiled as she watched her parents sit down at the end of her massive bed. It was Snow's turn to speak now. "Which story would you like to read, Emma?"

Emma shook her head and nervously said, "Can you tell me the story of the Evil Queen?"

Snow looked at Charming and when he shook his head she said, "How about I tell you about your grandfather Leopold?"

Emma shook her head. "Mother, I know all about him. I want to hear the story of Queen Regina."

Her parents sighed, clearly relenting. Emma wasn't the type of child to throw temper tantrums, but she did know how to give good silent treatments. It was her specialty. Once, Snow told Emma she couldn't go riding with Pinocchio and she didn't speak to her for 9 days, and the only reason she spoke to her then was because she had a question.

Snow visibly tensed, but began to tell the tale anyway. "When I was about 10 years old, I got on a horse for the first time and all of a sudden it went crazy. It was bucking and going off in every direction and I knew I was going to die. Suddenly, a teenaged girl about 16 years old saved me from the horse. My father expressed his gratitude by asking her to marry him. They married and she became Queen Regina. As I grew up, I became prettier by the day and my father told me every second. She was jealous and killed my father and went after me trying to kill me for years."

Emma was hoping her mother wouldn't lie to her about the story, but it appeared she had. Her brain was burning to ask a question, but she also desperately wanted to finish the book. Instead of telling her mother she knew she was lying, she planted kisses on both her parents' cheeks.

"Thank you for the story Mommy. Goodnight Mommy, Goodnight Daddy."

Both parents tucked her in and walked out of the room, shutting the door behind them. Emma haphazardly felt around under her bed for the book and smiled when she found it. Walking over to her desk, she lit a candle with some rocks she had in her drawer and began to read the story of the Evil Queen.

She read about the Queen's magic and how she could command a mirror to show her anyone she pleased. Emma thought it was pretty cool. She didn't think she could do it, but she looked into her mirror and said, "Show me Queen Regina." She tapped it once and gasped at what she saw.

It was then that Emma began to believe in hope.


	2. Chapter 2

Hey guys! I was literally SO surprised to see so many follows on this story. As for who is G!P, I didn't include it in the description for a reason. I won't reveal that until later. I mentioned it though in case some of you aren't interested in it. Enjoy x

" _Show me Queen Regina…"_

The little girl stared at her mirror as the glass became blurry and morphed into an image. Emma gasped when she saw the image of a dark castle—quite the opposite of her own actually. The castle had black, marble floors and walls of obsidian. It was beautiful, really…built for a queen. She recognized it as the Dark Castle from her storybook and felt herself growing more and more excited to see Regina. Just when she was about to question Regina's whereabouts, a beautiful woman appeared in the mirror. She wore a red dress which hugged her curves and her long, dark tresses were half up, half down. Emma wanted to reach out and touch them, but she knew she couldn't.

Regina didn't look to be any older than about 18, which Emma found strange. Her mother had a couple grey hairs while her father had wrinkles around his eyes. She made a note to ask Regina about that someday if she ever got the chance to.

The woman was pacing around what Emma guessed were her bed chambers, obviously deep in thought. She looked pained, as if something was on plaguing her mind. All Emma wanted to do was wipe it all away. "What's wrong, Queen Regina?" Emma softly asked. She would've never prepared herself for what was going to happen next.

Alert, Regina swiftly turned to where she'd heard a voice. If anyone was watching her through a mirror, she couldn't initially see them, but she could in fact hear them. "Mirror, show me whoever dares watch their queen." She grinned evilly and her voice dripped with malice. It seemed today was a bad day to cross the queen.

Emma sat frightfully behind the mirror, trying to conjure up ways to avoid being discovered. She hadn't meant to make the Queen angry, she just wanted to be friends. It seemed like these days the only friend she had was herself. She just wanted someone to confide in, laugh with, and have fun with. _Was that so hard to ask for?_ Caught up in her own thoughts, she failed to notice that Regina could now see her face.

Regina waved her hand so that she could be heard through the other girl's mirror. This little girl looked intriguing to say the least and she was not going to pass up the opportunity to find out more about her. "Hello dear, may I ask why you have been spying on me?"

Emma's insides felt like they were somersaulting within her. Her face went pale at the sound of the woman's voice. _How could someone sound so cruel, but look so beautiful?_ The girl gulped, clearly too nervous to answer. She was afraid she might say something stupid, and the truthful story was far too long to explain to a stranger without telling her life story.

Regina's nose scrunched in annoyance. "Little girl!" She harshly whispered, effectively pulling Emma out of her trance. When she saw she had Emma's full attention she asked, "Why have you been spying on me?"

Emma felt like she was going to melt. She just wanted someone to talk to that wasn't a royal guard or her parents. She felt herself begin to tear up, this was not how she wanted this to go.

"Hush child," Regina's voice softened—there was a clear difference between how she initially regarded Emma and now. All she wanted was for Emma to stop crying. She couldn't explain it, but when Emma hurt, she hurt as well. "Tell me who you are at once." She said it a little more firmly than intended, but well, she was a Queen after all.

Emma knew that she shouldn't tell Regina who she is. However, she couldn't explain it but there was this pull within her that told her it would be okay if she did. Wiping her tears, she mumbled "Princess Emma of the White Kingdom."

If Regina hadn't been listening for her title, she never would've heard the young girl. She was sure her eyebrows had reached her forehead. At first, she was curious as to why this little girl would contact her when they were sworn enemies, but now she suspected she was a part of a scheme that her parents had convinced her to participate in. Anger ran through her blood, and she got the urge to kill the entire Charming family at once. She was pulled from her thoughts at the sound of the small voice.

"I know what you're thinking. It's not a trick, I'm not a trick."

Regina didn't know why she believed the little girl, but she did. Something inside her told her to believe everything this little girl had to say. "And why should I believe you?" A queen can't appear to agree with everything, she must ask questions.

Emma seemed to think about her response for a few seconds and decide on one she liked. "Because I want to be your friend," She added but then quickly amended the statement, "I want you to be my friend and I'll be yours."

Regina's heart warmed at the sound of the girl's voice. She cursed herself as she felt old insecurities come out to play. _Why would anyone want to befriend the Evil Queen?_ "Very well then, I suppose we are _"friends"_ now." The word didn't taste as bitter in her mouth as she expected, but sweet and full of love and warmth. Although her first friend was an eight year old girl, she could feel herself start to smile.

Emma beamed at the Queen. "I am such a good friend, your majesty. I won't let you down!"

Regina had to do a double take at this girl's zeal. Smiling inside, she found herself quite excited to get to know her. Maybe befriending the daughter of her sworn enemies could be a good thing and wouldn't come back to bite her. "I'm assured you won't, my dear" She smoothed out the invisible wrinkles on her dress and fixed her hair. "I must be going now Princess, my apologies. A kingdom cannot run itself, you know."

Emma pouted and Regina fought the urge to cry from seeing her new friend so sad. "Will you come back?" She hoped with everything within her that Regina would come back and talk to her. She had a lot of questions she wanted to ask the woman and she was literally itching the ask them.

Regina chuckled at how eager the girl was to talk to her. With a nod of her head, she assuaged the girl's fears. "Of course dear. I'll tell you what—whenever you come in your bed chambers and know you'll be alone for a significant amount of time you can talk to me. I'm not sure what it is you did to contact me this time, but do it again and be sure to say something, otherwise I will not know of your presence."

Taking this in, Emma nodded emphatically. "I will, your majesty."

Regina seemed to think for a little while and against her better judgment she said, "Call me Regina."

Emma almost squealed. She'd never been able to call a royal by their first name. "Call me Emma," she whispered back.

Nodding, Regina said her goodbyes. "Get some sleep, little one. I will speak to you tomorrow."

Smiling back at the queen, Emma nodded and watched as her mirror morphed back into just that—a mirror. The little girl sighed in contentment and placed the book someone safe in her closet. She padded back to her bed, peeled back the covers and slid in. Wishing that Regina have a good night's sleep, she closed her eyes and fell into a peaceful slumber herself.


	3. Chapter 3

Hey guys! I love how much feedback I'm getting. I'll tell you what, keep sending me your suggestions and I'll take a tally. If I get more for Regina G!P, I'll pick her. If I get more for Emma, then I'll pick her. I haven't decided on which person I want, and my story would go as planned either way. Help me out guys x

Chapter 3

Emma woke up the next morning completely giddy. No one in the castle would call her glum, but her mood today was significantly different from how it usually was. The guards raised their eyebrows when the princess dramatically opened the doors to her bed chambers and waved hello.

She headed down to the kitchen and said hello to the cook, smiling to all of the staff.

"Good morning Princess Emma." They all bowed to her. No matter how many times she'd told them to just call her Emma, they still called her _your highness_ and Princess Emma.

Rolling her eyes, she left the kitchen and headed down to the dining hall where she saw her parents sitting at the table waiting for her.

It was Snow who looked up first. "Good morning Emma, you're up early!"

Emma really was up early. It was just after sunrise and she found herself getting up as soon as the sun was up, wanting to chat more with Regina. She internally reminded herself to get up at her usual time no matter how excited she was because she didn't want her parents finding out. She wanted Regina to be her little secret, and she knew her parents would take her away if they were to find out.

"Yes mommy, I got a lot of rest last night." She walked over to her mother and wrapped her arms around her neck and willingly accepted a kiss on the cheek from Snow.

She quickly did the same with her father. "Good morning daddy."

Emma sat down at the table and accepted the tea offered to her. Placing a scone on her plate, she took a huge bite from it, causing her mother to scowl.

"Emma, we've talked about this. If you expect to be treated like a princess and treated like one, then _act_ like one. I swear you and your father are identical."

Both women glanced at Charming who was now stuffing his face with a muffin and chugging his tea. Emma giggled at her father. She knew he was doing this to get the attention off of her and she loved him for that. She loved her mother dearly, but sometimes she tended to nag her to no end.

When Emma was finished eating, she headed off to her lessons for the day, desperate to talk to Regina.

Regina was currently in court listening to peasants complain about their problems. She didn't mind helping her people, but when two peasants got into an argument over a watermelon, she lost all her faith in humanity.

"What is it that you want me to do? Grant one of you the watermelon?"

The two peasants nodded. When one of them looked as if they were going to speak, Regina gestured towards the man, granting him permission to speak. She smirked when she saw he kept his gaze downward. _Good peasant, knowing your place in society_ , she thought.

"With all due respect, your majesty, I want _my_ whole watermelon. I deserve it and I think it'd be stupid and foolish—"

Graham, Regina's Captain started moving towards the man, expecting an outburst.

"Are you referring to your Queen as stupid and foolish? How dare you!"

The man didn't stop at that. "Well if her majesty is going to give my watermelon to the wrong man, then she is an idiot."

Everyone in the court audibly gasped, unable to believe that someone would talk to the _Evil Queen_ in such a manner. All the people in the Dark Kingdom (and White Kingdom) feared her. Any who weren't would be now.

She called upon her magic to lift the man into the air, smirking at the sound of his screams. She personally didn't like killing, and if she did it would only be because she crushed their hearts. Today, she was not going to kill this man, she had something else in mind.

When she saw the other farmer meekly raise his hand, she kept her hold on the other man while she turned her attention to the farmer. "Yes?"

"Your majesty…I would be content with half the watermelon or you could even give him the whole watermelon. I-I don't want any trouble." The man was now on his knees, praying the Queen would spare his life.

Regina was pleased with how respectful the other man seemed compared to the man she was currently holding in the air. Yes, this was a complete waste of her time, but she was kind of amused with the situation. Out of all the things people had come to her for, this was by far the _most_ bizarre.

"I appreciate your respect…" She motioned for a name.

"Liam." He said.

"Liam, I am granting you the extra watermelon that this man claims is his." The man's face paled as he saw the evil smirk that now appeared on the Queen's face. Considering the punishment she chose for another second, she waved her hand and smiled.

The court became so silent you could've heard a pin drop. Next to Liam, there were about 20 or so watermelons laying on the ground. He began to weep as he crawled over to Regina, planting kisses on her feet.

She was completely disgusted, but happy she could help nonetheless. "Return to the palace in 7 moons and I will have a job here in the palace for you." She turned to Graham and said, "Graham, please put the melons in a barrel and see to it that Liam here is safely delivered to his farm, watermelons in tow."

Graham nodded and motioned for Liam to follow him out of the throne room. Thanking the young queen once again, he exited the room.

Regina faced everyone in the room and said, "That will be all for today. I am tired and am going to retire to my bed chambers. No one shall disturb me." All of the nobility and guards bowed to her and she disappeared in a purple cloud of smoke.

Emma had just finished her lunch and was now in her room. Her parents had court and as a young princess she wasn't allowed to listen in. She still remembered the argument she had with her mother over it to this day.

" _Mommy, can I come to court with you and Daddy?"_

 _Snow looked at Emma and shook her head. "No sweetheart, court is for grown-ups. You know what that means don't you?"_

 _Emma almost rolled her eyes at her mother. She truly hated when she talked to her like she was a child. Yes she was, but she was a lot smarter than people gave her credit for. "I am aware Mother. I just want to be able to come to court. I have a lot of positive things to offer."_

 _Her mother wasn't budging. "I don't want you in court."_

 _Emma knew she'd just annoy her mother by asking but she wanted to know why. "Why?"_

 _Snow's face scrunched up in annoyance as she tried to think of an answer. "Because I said so." She knew that wasn't going to satisfy Emma, but it was the best she could think of. As long as she'd been alive, no one under the age of 13 sat in court._

" _I know, but why do you say so? Do you have a reason?"_

" _No Emma, I don't have a reason. For once you're going to have to do what I say because I told you to!" She winced as the words came flying out of her mouth but it was too late to take them back._

 _Tears began to collect in Emma's eyes and she turned and ran away from her mother._

The thought of how her mother would speak to her when frustrated made her want to speak to Regina even more. What she loved about Regina most was that even when she seemed angry at her, she never spoke to her like she was better than her.

Speaking of Regina, Emma walked over to her mirror and sat down in the chair. Closing her eyes, she whispered "Show me Queen Regina." Tapping the mirror three times, she watched excitedly as the glass began to morph into a picture of the Queen's bedchambers.

She watched as sat directly in front of her in a chair, kind of like how Emma was. Realizing she had to talk first before Regina knew she was there, she whispered, "Regina."

She watched as Regina flinched nervously at first, and then her mouth stretched into a wide smile that reached her eyes. "Emma, how are you?"

"I'm quite well, and yourself?"

Regina smiled back at her. "I'm doing alright, thank you. How was your day, dear?" She'd never had an actual conversation with anyone before where she wasn't either threatening to kill them or where she was getting what she wanted.

"It was alright, kind of lonely, but you're here now. What about yours?"

Regina smiled at how thoughtful and well-mannered Emma seemed to be. She clearly couldn't see any traits in Emma that the two idiots that were her parents had. "My day was uneventful. I had two men come to court today to argue over a six-pound watermelon. That was the most interesting thing that happened to me."

Emma giggled at the Queen's story, the sound music to Regina's ears. This child was purely adorable. "My mommy and daddy told me I couldn't sit in court, so I didn't do much today."

"Do you mother and father not permit you to do things?" Regina was intrigued to hear about what Snow and Charming were like as parents.

Emma shook her head. "They're always watching me. I almost never have any time where I'm not being watched, unless I'm in my bedchambers. Even then, there's always someone outside the door to make sure I'm safe."

Regina wanted to cry at the sound of Emma's voice. It made her sad when Emma wasn't happy. All she wanted was for the little girl to smile. Deciding to change the subject, she wanted to know more about how the girl talked to her. "Emma, how did you even know I existed? I know Snow didn't mention me to you before, so how do you know I exist?"

Emma decided that she trusted Regina enough to tell her about the book. She padded over to her closet and grabbed the book and showed it to Regina. "One day, when I was alone, I sat down on my bed and this was in it. It has the stories of everyone from the Enchanted Forest."

Regina examined the unknown book. "May I see the book?" When she saw the girl's furrowed eyebrows, she explained, "You can pass it to me through the mirror, dear."

Emma cautiously handed the Queen the book through the mirror. When their hands touched, sparks traveled through both of them which caused Regina to audibly gasp. She tried to conceal it with a cough as she opened the leather book.

When Regina opened the book, she saw a picture of herself, Snow, and Charming in the throne room of the White Castle. Reading the first few words, she realized the book was telling her story and knew she had to read it all. "Emma?"

Emma had been staring at the Queen while she was reading. She thought the Queen was so beautiful, more beautiful than her own mother (she'd never tell her this of course). "Yes?" She blushed, realizing she'd probably been caught staring.

"May I keep this book and return it when I am finished reading it?"

Emma nodded. She'd do anything for Regina. "Keep it for as long as you want, Gina."

Regina's nose scrunched, feigning annoyance, but Emma could see the smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. "Did you just call me Gina?"

Emma smiled widely at Regina, so wide that the Queen had to stop herself from gushing at how cute the little girl was. "Gina, I have a lot of questions I want to ask you."

Regina figured that would be okay. "Alright Emma, ask whatever you like."

Emma thought about her first question and remembered she had wanted to ask Regina. "Why do you look so young still? You're older than my mommy and daddy but they look older than you."

"Magic." Regina eyed the girl's features to see if she understood this, and when Emma nodded at her she didn't press any further.

Emma moved onto the next question. "Why do people call you the Evil Queen?"

 _Surely Emma is too smart to ask such a question, right?_ "Emma, why are you asking such a question? Surely you've read the book so I'm sure you know why I was given that name."

Emma shook her head. "I've heard every story about you but the story you tell. Everyone calls you evil, but I have yet to hear your side. You have been so nice to me—you're my friend now. I don't see what everyone else sees in you. You are wonderful."

Tears ran down Regina's eyes. "That is the sweetest thing anyone has ever said to me."

Emma reached across the dresser and into the mirror and wiped Regina's tears away. This time, it was Emma that gasped at the spark she felt when she touched Regina. Quickly pulling her hand away, she reminded herself not to stick her hand through the mirror anymore, it made her hand feel weird.

Regina however couldn't stop thinking about the sparks and she made a mental note to ask Rumpelstiltskin about it later.

Before they could resume their conversation, Emma heard a knock at her door. Regina, sensing the girl's panic used her magic to make the mirror appear normal as the girls' parents barged through the door.

Even though the two spent hours talking to each other, it still felt like they didn't get to talk enough. Regina hated sharing her friend with two idiots.


	4. Chapter 4

Hey y'all. You won't know who is G!P until Emma is older, so you can vote until I'm ready to reveal who is G!P. I'll give you a one chapter warning before I'm ready to reveal. Also, I know these chapters have been short, but I do plan on making them much longer once I fully plan out the rest of this story. Enjoy x

Chapter 4

Rumpelstiltskin sat in his castle mixing potions. It wasn't like he was currently doing any favors for anyone, he just liked to mix random potions should someone need one. Currently, he was mixing a memory potion should someone need to forget something or some _one_. When the Evil Queen regally strode into the room, it took a bit more self-control than he expected to contain his surprise.

"Why, if it isn't the _Evil Queen_." He laughed that nefarious laugh of his that set almost everyone on edge _but_ Regina.

Ignoring him, she fixed herself a glass of tea and took a sip, all the while magically conjuring a chair for herself. Rumpel looked indifferent towards her presence, so she decided to intrigue him a bit. "I've been speaking to Princess Emma, the daughter of the two idiots."

To say he was interested would've been an understatement. He almost spilled his potions on the ground because he was in shock. He knew the Queen wouldn't have come to him had it not been serious, but ever since she refused to cast his Dark Curse he had wanted nothing to do with the woman.

His head snapped towards the Queen so quickly Regina thought his neck was going to break. He cackled, and stopped all he was doing. "Interesting, _dearie._ Do tell me how this came to be."

Regina started telling him what had happened, "She somehow used her magic to look at me through her mirror. She found a storybook called _Once Upon a Time_ and it has _all_ of our stories in it from the Enchanted Forest. She must've read about me and wanted to contact me. What I came to inquire about though is the sparks I feel when she touched me through the mirror. It's as if magic is racing throughout my entire being and I'm both intrigued by it and worried. Do you have any idea as to what this could be?"

What Regina wasn't expecting was that exasperating laugh of his that filled the emptiness of the castle. _What was he laughing about?_ Standing up, she slammed her hand on the table, pulling him out of his chortles. "I demand you tell me what you're cackling about at once!"

Rumpelstiltskin was in no means afraid of the Evil Queen, but he noticed that this time, she seemed even less _scary_ than usual. There was a glow about her, which only confirmed his theory. "The little Princess is your soul mate. You are true loves."

Regina thought he was tricking her—trying to make a fool out of her. Calling on her magic, she conjured vines which tightly wrapped around the imp. "The games cease now, _crocodile._ Tell me the truth at once."

Despite the bindings, he spoke as clearly as ever. "I am being completely sincere with you. Princess Emma is your soul mate. You only ever experience that blast of magic from your true love."

Regina was so bewildered she poofed herself away and back to her castle where she could have time to process. _Emma was her soul mate?_ She couldn't wrap her mind around the fact that the daughter of her sworn enemy was her true love. What she really couldn't believe was that a _child_ was her supposéd soul mate. _How could this be?_

Deciding not to think about it for the time being, she walked straight to her bedchambers and ordered her personal guard not to let anyone disturb her. If she was correct, a certain princess would be contacting her soon and she couldn't afford to let that information get into the hands of the peasants. They spread gossip like wildfire.

Princess Emma had just entered her room. It seemed it was getting harder and harder to escape her parents' watchful gazes the older she got. She'd just barely managed to get in her room this time. She told her parents she was going to go take a nap, to which they agreed.

She walked over to her dresser and grabbed her brush from the drawer. The brush was what made her golden curls so tamed. The bristles were made of unicorn horn and horse mane, which was a very hard combination to come by. She brushed her hair and looked in the mirror, hoping she looked okay. She didn't know why she cared so much about what she looked like, but she didn't want Regina to think she looked like a commoner or a peasant.

Smiling at the thought of talking to Regina, she whispered into the mirror and tapped it three times. Instantaneously, she was met with the sight of Queen Regina fixing her hair in the mirror. She didn't know why she didn't just use magic, but well, it was up to her.

"Hi Regina." She said in such a small voice. If Regina hadn't been awaiting her, she probably would've missed her voice. Waving her hand, she smiled as the beautiful princess appeared in the mirror.

"Hello, Emma. How are you today?"

Emma shrugged her shoulders.

"What's the matter, dear?" Her eyebrows knit in confusion. _Shouldn't the daughter of Snow White and Prince Charming be the happiest girl in the world?_

Emma looked like she was going to lie for a second, but then decided to tell her the truth. "I'm lonely…the only people I see are my parents. I want friends. I've only met Princess Alexandra once and they're only a day's ride away. I have you, and I mean, you're my best friend. I'm happy about that but I want to see you and play games and such."

Normally, Regina would've scoffed and offered a harsh retort, but her heart ached to see the little girl hurting. She was a woman and a well, a _Queen_. If this were any other child, she'd have turned her nose up and refused to do such things with a child, but a piece of herself wanted to play game with the little girl and make her laugh. "Emma, I'm sorry that you've known such pain," She cursed the two idiots that were the girl's parents, "You deserve to be happy, little one. Perhaps we can meet each other…if you grant me some time to figure out how, I suppose."

Emma bounced up and down in her seat, unable to contain her excitement. Reaching through the mirror, she pulled the Queen into a bear hug, ignoring the clatter of items they'd knocked over during the exchange.

Regina at first nearly squeaked at the abrupt change, but soon melted in the little girl's arms. She could now feel the magic coursing through her veins, and by the look on Emma's face, she knew she could feel it as well. Pulling back, she smiled at the little girl and made a mental note to come up with a plan so she could meet the little girl without alarming the girl's parents.


	5. Chapter 5

Hey guys! Thank you so much for supporting me and this story, it means a lot. I'm semi new to the Once fandom and hope to give you all many more fics! Question: How do you guys feel about Dark!Emma?

Chapter 5

Regina was once again on her way to the Dark One's lair. She hated asking anyone for help, especially that scaly-skinned crocodile that was Rumpelstiltskin. She resisted the urge to vomit at the thought of the man, but smiled when the image of a beautiful blonde little girl entered her mind.

Although she knew that Emma was her soulmate, she didn't think of the blonde in a romantic way. It was weird for her to think of a child as her best friend, but she knew Emma was truly the only one who cared about her besides her father. That made her heart swell, and she would do anything to remove the frown from the little girl's face and replace it with a smile.

When she was close enough to Rumple's castle, she poofed herself inside, not caring that he was engrossed in a conversation with his maid.

Rumpelstiltskin looked at the Queen confusingly. He couldn't figure out why the Evil Queen would visit him twice in one week, let alone twice in a lifetime after their history. His mask suddenly appeared and he cheerfully exclaimed, "Why if it isn't the Evil Queen! Two visits in one week, this must be good dearie!"

Regina decided she was in too good of a mood to deal with the imp. "Let's get to the point, shall we? I'm here because I need a way to see Emma in person without her parents finding out."

Rumpel pretended to think and then his lips curled into a creepy smile. "Why dearie, don't you remember the cloning spell I taught you?"

A light bulb went off in the Queen's head. It had been a rather complex spell to master back when she was learning magic and she had forgotten all about it. She poofed away, ignoring the imp's cryptic laughs. Instead of being bothered with the carriage, she traveled back to her palace and locked herself within her chambers.

Fishing out one of her mother's magic books, she opened it and found the exact spell she needed to clone the little girl. Smiling brightly, she felt rather pleased that she had a way to spend time with her Emma. Now, she just had to wait for the little girl to contact her. She placed an enchantment on both her mirror and herself which would enable her to hear Emma should she call to her while she was absent.

"Emma, have we not discussed this already?" Snow looked at her daughter with weary eyes, tired of answering the same question.

"Yes, mommy, but I just want to know what she's like! Do you think I could meet her?"

"NO!" Both her parents yelled back the answer at her, forgetting that this was an 8 year old girl they were speaking to.

Tears filled her eyes, threatening to spill and stain her unusually red cheeks. She knew she told herself she wouldn't talk anymore about the Evil Queen, but she couldn't help herself. Maybe if she could convince her parents to let her see Regina, she wouldn't have to sneak around. Deciding that that was just a figment of her own imagination, she rose from the table. "Mother, father, I am going to retire to my chambers. Please see to it that no one disturbs me." The little girl turned on her heel and walked back to her bedchambers, ignoring the horrified look on her parents' faces.

As she made the trek back to her room, she felt hot tears roll down her face. She hated that her parents could make her feel so _little_ , so insignificant. She felt as if she didn't matter.

When she got into her room, she immediately wiped her face and tapped her mirror, whispering the name she'd grown so accustomed to saying. When the image on the mirror showed an empty room, she could feel the familiar ache in her throat that told her she was going to cry again. Assuming Regina didn't want to speak to her anymore, she began to weep as she thought about how everyone in her life just seemed to disappoint her. _Did anyone want her?_

She got so carried away that she didn't notice the regal queen poof into the room and sit down in front of the mirror.

"Emma?"

The little girl raised her head to look at Regina and the Queen felt as if her heart was breaking into a million pieces. She wanted to kill whoever was responsible for Emma's pain. "Emma, sweetie, what's wrong?"

Emma simply shook her head and stared back at the ground.

Reaching through the glass, she gently lifted the little girl's chin and wiped away the stray tears that had collected on the girl's cheeks. "Emma, if you want me to help you, you need to tell me what happened, dear."

The tears came back once again and she hiccupped, "I thought you didn't want to talk to me…" She mumbled.

Regina however was able to understand exactly what the blonde said and tried to hide the bewilderment in her question. "Why would you think that?" Emma was probably the only person she _did_ wish to talk to. She'd never mention it to Emma or anyone else for that matter, but if Emma were the only person she spoke to for the rest of her life she would be perfectly content with that.

She sniffled and stared at the floor, "You weren't there when I called you."

Realizing Emma was still in fact eight years old, she calmly explained, "I didn't know when or if you were going to call so I put a spell on my mirror that would tell me when you were there. I'm sorry to have caused you sadness, little one."

This seemed to make Emma feel slightly better, but she still seemed upset. Regina assumed there must've been more to the story. "Did something else happen, Emma?"

When Emma seemed reluctant to answer Regina knew she was right. "You can tell me anything, Emma."

The little girl smiled softly at this and solemnly replied, "Promise you won't tell?" She reached into the mirror and knowing just what to do, Regina interlocked their pinkies and kissed them to seal the promise.

The little girl chuckled when she saw she had half of the Queen's lipstick kiss on her finger. Regina too smiled widely, the sound music to her ears. "Now, tell me what is on your mind."

She took a deep breath, and sighed. "My mommy and daddy yelled at me today."

Before she decided to murder the two idiots Emma called her parents, she needed to hear more of the story. Anyone who made Emma unhappy was a fool. "Do go on, dear."

"Well, I asked my mommy if I could meet you sometime and her and my daddy yelled at me and said no."

Regina nodded at this. She reached into the glass and placed her hand on Emma's. "Little one, I think it to be incredibly sweet and amazing that you see me as someone good, not the Evil Queen. I suppose what I am trying to say is that not everyone feels the same about me that you do. I tried to hurt your mommy and daddy many times, and sometimes grown-ups are not as forgiving as children. Do you understand?"

Emma felt anger when she heard this. "I think it's silly that my parents don't like you. I don't think you're evil at all, I just think you were sad which is why you hurt people. You're nice to me though. You're the best friend I could ever have."

Regina beamed at this. "I feel the same way, little one. Actually, I have a surprise for you." She could barely contain her excitement. Trying to think of a way to explain everything to an eight year old seemed like a hard task, but then she remembered that Emma was brilliant and that eased her fears.

Emma jumped in her seat, "What is it Gina, what is it?!"

Ignoring her newly acquired nickname, she pulled out her gift to Emma. "I have a way for us to see each other."

Emma could barely contain her excitement. "REALLY, GINA? DO YOU MEAN IT?!" She couldn't believe this. She had went from having the worst day ever to having the best day ever.

Regina chuckled at the girl's zeal. "Yes, dear. I have a few things to tell you so listen carefully. Your mommy and daddy's castle is enchanted. Bad people like me can't come close to it, so I need your help. Do you think you can do that?"

Nodding eagerly, Emma waited for Regina to tell her what she needed to do. "I need you to put on this necklace. Your magic isn't advanced enough for you to travel to where I am and whole bodies cannot travel through mirrors. If you are wearing this necklace, you can always travel to where I am."

Squealing, Emma pulled Regina into an awkward hug. When she pulled away, she accepted the light purple-gemmed necklace and quickly slipped it around her neck. "How did you know that purple was my favorite color?"

"Lucky guess." Regina winked at Emma, causing the blonde to laugh at the Queen's antics.

"Now, I need to clone you so that your parents won't know you're gone. The new you will act just like you, and talk just like you so your parents aren't suspicious. Poof yourself to me and I shall clone you when you arrive."

Emma could not believe that her dreams were coming true and that this was happening. The woman she had read about in books was her best friend and she was going to meet her. In that moment, life could not be any better. Regina watched in amazement as a white light engulfed Emma and reappeared in her bedchambers.

When the light faded and it was just a small little blonde girl standing in front of the queen, Regina had to fight back the tears. Emma looked at Regina for a moment and then ran straight into the queen's open arms.

Regina, not even bothering to fight the tears back anymore whispered into the blonde's hair, "You're so much more beautiful in person, if possible."

Emma whispered back, "You are the fairest in all the lands, Gina."

Pulling back, Regina brushed a lock of curls out of the girl's face. "No, my dear. You are."

The two stared at each other for what felt like forever until Regina remembered she needed to clone Emma. "Emma, I need to clone you now…unless you wish to return home?" She couldn't hide the vulnerability laced within that statement. A part of her feared the little girl would decide she didn't want to be her friend anymore and leave.

Emma smiled up at the Queen. "Gina, don't be silly. Of course I want to stay. Clone me!"

Quickly and flawlessly completing the spell, she rolled her eyes as Emma began chatting with her other self. It was quite amusing to see what excited an eight year old girl. She quickly sent the clone back to Emma's bedchambers, and did a spell, making the clone fall asleep. Closing her mirror portal, she looked back at Emma and said, "I want you to meet my father."

Noticing that Emma didn't seem too excited to meet her father, Regina crouched down to the blonde's height and stared into the green, intense eyes. "Why do you not seem excited?"

Knowing that Regina would not hurt her if she disliked the answer, she whispered, "He hurt you. He let Cora hurt you and didn't do anything. He didn't protect you. I don't want to meet him."

Tears filled the Queen's eyes. _No one_ had cared for her like that since well, since Daniel. "That means more to me than you know, little one. I love that you care so much about me, but it is okay now. I'm alright now and it would mean a lot to me if you met my father. Would you please?"

Emma nodded and accepted the soft hand that the Queen offered her. Following the queen's lead out of the room, she smiled softly to herself. She wouldn't tell a soul, but here she felt happy…and home.


	6. Chapter 6

Hey guys! I appreciate your votes, however they must come to an end. I give you until tomorrow (9/7 at 9PM ET) to submit any last minute votes on G!P Emma or Regina, and then I will count them up and get along with my story. To those of you who are saying G!P Regina wouldn't really work, this story is an AU. You aren't even 100% sure if Regina's marriage with Leopold was like it was in the show. Vote, read, and find out. Enjoy x

Chapter 6

The little girl followed Regina hand-in-hand down the dark, long corridor of the castle. Emma fought the urge to giggle at how solemn the guards seemed. Even when she smiled at one of the men, they did not smile back at her, they simply remained stoic as if smiling was forbidden in the Dark Kingdom.

When they got to the East Wing of the castle, Emma noticed it had a much more different feeling—it was almost _warmer_. They got to the last door on the right, and just when Emma thought it was going to be a tiny bedchamber housing an old man, it turned out to be the biggest library she had ever seen.

The little girl gasped, both of her hands instantly covering her mouth as her eyes widened at the colossal of books before her. Part of her wanted to spend the rest of the day in this very room, but she knew she had to meet Regina's father. Glancing up at the Queen, she blushed when she saw the woman's eyes were already on her, grinning at how excited the little girl seemed.

"Sorry," she mumbled.

Regina however didn't look angry or impatient in the slightest. Simply chucking, she shook her head. "It's quite alright, Emma. There is someone I would like you to meet."

Turning her gaze to the figure Regina was pointing at, Emma turned her attention to the man she hadn't seemed to notice at first. When he stood, she took note of his gait. He walked with a limp, but possessed no walking aid. She could see where Regina received her olive-colored skin from, but besides that this man physically had no similarities with her.

Emma apprehensively walked toward the man who called himself Regina's father. She wanted to be polite, so she reached her hand out to shake his.

Surprised at the friendly gesture, Henry gladly accepted the hand offered and firmly shook it. Bending down so that his eyes were at the same level as Emma's, he gingerly murmured, "Hi, Princess Emma. I've heard a lot about you." And he had. He couldn't express how happy he was that his daughter had found her happy ending. All of Regina's life, she'd never had any real friends, and he was glad she'd found one. Granted, it was an eight year old girl, but she lit up his daughter's eyes more than anyone he'd ever seen.

Emma seemed to grin a bit at this. It warmed her heart to know Regina had mentioned her to someone. "Hello…" She seemed to struggle with a proper title for the man.

Henry seemed to sense her hesitation, and chuckled softly. "My formal title is Prince Henry, but you may call me Henry. I like that best."

Nodding at this, Emma smiled softly. She felt more at ease now, and could see where Regina got her kindness from.

Henry decided to get to know the little girl a little more. "Emma, I saw how zealous you were about the library. I take it you like to read?"

At this, Emma nodded vehemently. "I've read every book in my parents' castle." Not even noticing that she failed to refer to her castle as "home", she continued, "I hope I can read every book here too."

Henry smiled at this. "I love to read as well. Maybe when we have more time I can give you a few suggestions, yes?"

Nodding eagerly, Emma finally turned to Regina and noticed the Queen had been looking at them all along. Skipping over to Regina, she tugged on the woman's arm and whispered, "Can we go now? I want it to be just you and me."

No one had ever told Regina they wanted to spend time with just _her_ before. Almost everyone Regina had spent time with had been for their personal gain or rather her own…never for the sake of enjoying one's company. Biting back the tears, she nodded, "Of course, little one." The Queen snapped her fingers as the two were enveloped in a purple cloud of smoke and sent back to her bedchambers.

When they arrived, Regina conjured two cushions for them to sit on. Emma watched as the Queen regally sat down in the chair and she wondered if Regina always seemed so…perfect. Everything about the Queen seemed perfect. The woman had not a hair out of place, it amazed the little girl.

Clearing her throat, Regina looked Emma in the eye. "So Emma, what did you think of my father?" If she had asked anyone else, she probably would've killed them on the spot if their answer was not to her liking. With Emma, she found herself wanting to know every thought the little girl had on her father, whether she liked it or not.

Emma seemed to be pensive for a while, until she said, "Well, I like him. He seemed nice and soft spoken. You get your kindness from your father. I think it's neat that he reads books as well, because then I will never bore of talking to him."

Regina smiled at this. She didn't know why she was worried Emma would hate her father. Her father and Emma had a lot in common. What she wasn't prepared for was what Emma said next.

"His compassion makes it really hard to be angry with him for not protecting you in your past. It's too late to be angry about it now, so maybe I will have to protect you from the bad things now since he didn't do a good job. Okay?"

Before Regina knew it, little arms wrapped around her neck. Hot tears slid down her face as she praised whatever gods there were for this little girl. Nodding into the hug, she pulled back and smiled gratefully as Emma wiped the stray tears away from her eyes. "Emma, you are something else, aren't you?"

Grinning widely at the Queen, Regina frowned.

"Regina, what's wrong?" Emma asked.

Regina seemed sad, for what reason Emma didn't know. "I have to get you home now, little one. It isn't wise to keep you away from where you live for too long."

Emma pouted at this, "But Regina, I just got here!"

Regina blinked in surprise. That was the first time she'd ever heard Emma whine. She flinched as she thought back to what her mother did when she used to whine.

" _Regina, no more dessert." Cora Mills had had enough of her daughter sneaking dessert behind her back, and now she was firmly telling her daughter not to consume anymore._

" _But mamaaaa…" Although Henry thought the whining was very cute, Cora knew that whining was not fit for a queen. Conjuring her magic, she placed the girl in magical bindings so she couldn't escape or squirm._

" _How many times have I told you that whining is not tolerated, Regina?"_

 _The little girl cried softly, unable to look to her currently silent father for help. She was brought out of her thoughts by the magical lashing on her leg. "Ahhh! Mama, please stop!"_

 _Cora shook her head and sighed, "Queens do not beg either." She whipped the girl once again, the screams music to her ears._

" _Now, how many desserts did you steal?" Cora knew the answer, but she wanted Regina to tell her herself._

 _Regina simply cried harder until she felt another three lashings against her leg. This time, they drew blood._

 _Henry couldn't watch this any longer. "Cora! Stop this at once!"_

 _Cora didn't even glance at her meek husband as she placed a silencing spell on his lips. Coming closer to Regina, she said, "Now, how many desserts did you steal?"_

 _Regina didn't cry this time, but instead whispered, "Four."_

 _Smiling to herself, Cora conjured an actual whip and stood in front of Regina. Holding the whip in her hand, she brought it down to strike the girl's hand._

" _Ah!" Regina cried as she felt the slash across her hand._

" _Count, or we start over."_

 _Not knowing how much more she could take, she cried, "One."_

 _Cora struck her daughter's hand until she reached four, and then grabbed the other and began four lashings on that hand as well._

 _By the time she was finished, Regina was an absolute mess and she felt the lesson had been taught._

Regina rubbed her palms as she shook away the memory. Plastering a fake smile on her face, she looked back at Emma.

Emma could sense that Regina felt sad. She couldn't explain it, but a part of her felt sad…and a part of her just knew that that sadness was what Regina was feeling. "Gina, why are you sad?"

Snapping her head up from her hands, Regina's eyebrows furrowed. "Dear, how in the Enchanted Forest would you know that I was sad?"

"I can somehow feel what you feel," Emma said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

The Queen laughed, hoping it didn't come out as awkward as she felt. "Of course, dear." Ignoring what fact she'd just learned, she scooted closer to Emma.

"Emma, you need to go back home and I need to morph you and your clone back together."

The little girl sighed. Of course she was going to miss her _best friend_ , but a large part of her also didn't want to go back to a place where her parents hovered and treated her as if her feelings didn't matter. Trying not to cry, she put on a brave face and nodded.

Feeling Emma's disappointment, the Queen's heart sank. Kneeling in front of Emma, Regina looked the girl in the eye and sighed. "Emma, I know you don't want to leave. _I_ don't want you to leave. As much as I hate to say this, the two idiots you call parents deserve to raise the _real_ you." She stopped for a moment to chuckle with Emma at the nickname she had for the girls' parents. "You can come visit me as often as you like, all I ask is that you keep our visits between you and I. Does that sound alright to you?"

Emma nodded, a bit happier than she'd been a minute ago. "Regina?"

Looking back quizzically at the girl, she said, "Yes, dear?"

"I love you."

Those three words made the Queen's entire face light up. She hadn't heard those three words from anyone other than her Daniel, but to hear them from the sweetest little girl she'd ever met was quite possibly the best feeling she'd ever had. "Emma, I love you too." And she meant it.

Emma looked insecure for a bit, but decided to ask anyway. "Promise we'll always be best friends?"

Regina looked at Emma like she had 3 heads. "There is no one else I would rather have as my best friend, trust me dear."

And Emma did trust Regina, with all her heart.

Regina activated her mirror and looked on at a peacefully sleeping "Emma". She began to tear up, but managed to keep them at bay, not wanting to upset Emma all over again. When she poofed the cloned version of Emma into her bedchambers, she combined the two.

Running her hands through Emma's blonde Princess curls, she smiled softly. "I'm going to miss you little one, but I will see you soon, alright?"

Nodding, Emma got on her tippy-toes and kissed Regina's cheek.

Beaming, the Queen flicked her wrist and sent Emma back through the mirror portal. When they were both on opposite sides of the glass, Regina waved at Emma and blew her a kiss.

Catching the kiss, Emma giggled and sent one back. The two had a silent conversation for a few minutes until conversation died down and Emma knew she had to say goodbye. Waving at Regina, she smiled before the Queen undid the spell on her mirror.

Walking over to her bed, Regina grabbed one of the pillows off of it and squeezed it, letting out a silent sob.


	7. Chapter 7

Thank you all for waiting so patiently! I've been brainstorming how to deliver this chapter to you all, and after like a month of thinking, I'm finally updating! As for who is G!P, I get that you're all so excited to know, but you'll have to keep reading because I'm not ready to reveal this. Those of you who claimed "Chapter 7" wasn't loading—I posted who was G!P first, but deleted it because I wanted a surprise. Enjoy x

Chapter 7

"Gina look!" Emma called to Regina excitedly as she made the book disappear and then reappear.

Regina planted a kiss on the little girl's cheek and beamed at her. She'd started teaching Emma how to use her magic so that the princess would know how to defend herself and be able to embrace such a significant detail about herself. So far, she was pleased at how quickly Emma was picking up on magic. "Emma, I'm so proud of you!" Hugging the little girl, she smiled as she felt the princess grip her even tighter.

"I'm a better witch than you!" Emma cried, dancing around the room laughing at Regina.

Normally, Regina would've taken that as a challenge, but instead she laughed, happy to see that Emma was coming even more out of her shell. "Of course you're the better witch, you're Emma."

Not knowing what Regina meant, Emma raised her eyebrow in the same way Regina did, almost mocking the woman.

"What I mean is that you're Emma. You're special in the most special of ways. You have many of talents, you're beautiful, and by far the sweetest child I've ever met. Of course you're the better witch." And Regina meant every word. Emma was the perfect little girl in her eyes.

Emma's smile reached her eyes. Her parents never made her feel this way. Never did she receive compliments without them being followed with suggestions or put-downs. All she felt she ever heard at home were insults masked with some sort of positivity that _oozed_ Snow White. She hugged the Queen as tight as she could, hoping she could convey the effect her words had on her. "Thank you Gina."

Regina smiled fondly at the little girl and ruffled her hair a bit, "You're welcome, dear."

Before they knew it, it was time for Emma to return home so that she could have supper with her parents. Like always, Emma would cling to the Queen and beg her not to send her back. And just like always, Regina's face would contort in pain, trying to think of a way to keep Emma forever. Of course, she had no ideas that wouldn't cause a war or backfire and she had to send Emma home unhappy.

Bending down so that she was eye level with the little girl, she pulled her into her arms and whispered, "I love you so much my little Swan. I will see you in two days time and we will think of a way to see each other once again."

Emma cried into Regina's shoulder, both at the idea of having to see her parents again and having to leave her best friend. "Promise you won't find another best friend while I'm gone?"

Regina's eyes shined with admiration for the little girl. Shaking her head, she gently placed her finger on Emma's chin so that their gazes could meet. "There is no one in this entire realm—or any other realm that I would rather be best friend's with. You're the most important person in my life Emma." Tapping the little girl's nose, she opened the portal through her mirror and summoned the clone that was currently brushing her hair. Quickly combining them into one single Emma, she gave the little girl a quick hug and fought back the tears when she had to physically pull Emma off of her. The Queen magically transported Emma through the mirror and waved goodbye when Emma was on the other side.

When Emma arrived back in her bedchambers, she shuffled over to the balcony in her room where she saw that it was barely sunset. Sighing to herself, she nearly cried when she thought about having dinner with her parents. The older she became, the more she dreaded seeing them or spending time with them.

Deciding to try to call Regina through her mirror, she sat down and began to whisper to her mirror. "Show me—" As soon as she began she heard a knock on her bedroom door.

Quickly grabbing her hair brush and running it through her long, blonde tresses she mumbled, "Enter," and tried to smile at her parents even though she was sure it appeared to be ghastly.

Snow was the first to speak. "Emma, we have some very special news for you." The woman shared glances with her husband and smiled as he cleared his throat.

Charming sat down on the seat next to Emma and said, "Emma, you are going to be a big sister."

Snow cheered and jumped up and down like a 5-year old. Still in shock, Emma's mouth looked as if it were firmly attached to the ground. When she still didn't cheer or look even a fraction of how excited Snow was, the woman's smile faded and her jaw set.

"Emma, I thought you'd be happy for your father and I. We got a second chance."

Emma's eyebrow raised quizzically. Even Charming was confused about what the Queen meant. When she saw both parties looking at her confusingly, she said, "We got a chance at another girl, a chance to raise this one the right way. Your father and I were naïve when we had you, and we let you do far too much. With this baby, it will be different."

The little girl blanched at looked to her father who was far too happy with the news of having another girl to realize the weight his wife's words had. Emma could not believe her young ears. Eventually, the couple left to celebrate the arrival of their new daughter, leaving Emma to herself. Crying to herself, she failed to notice her mirror transforming into the image of Regina's bedchambers.

Upon feeling a soft hand gently tug her hand away from her eyes and another hand wiping her tears, Emma flinched and then looked into her mirror to realize that it was Regina who was drying her tears.

"Regina, what are you doing here?"

Regina, far too angry to respond at that moment continued her ministrations, hoping the little girl would understand. When Emma repeated the question, she pulled her hands back and sighed. "Little one, what happened with your parents?"

Emma didn't fail to notice that Regina didn't answer her question, but she decided she'd let it go for now. Just when she'd begun to stop sniffling, she started to cry again, unable to forget the hurt her parents had caused her.

When she finally calmed down enough to tell Regina what happened, Regina found herself even angrier than she was to begin with. Reaching through the glass, she placed her hand on Emma's cheek which instantly calmed her down.

"Little one, I hope you are aware that you are perfect. There is not one thing about you that I would change. You are pure-hearted, kind, incredibly wise, and the biggest bundle of joy I have ever had the pleasure of meeting. I am very sorry that your parents clearly cannot see that and that it is affecting you as well. I promise, I will find a way to see you more often."

Emma beamed as though she'd never been crying. She grabbed Regina's hand and squeezed it, happy that someone cared about her. "I love you Gina."

Blinking back more tears, Regina replied fondly, "I love you too dear."

"DAMN IT!" Regina hastily flung the mirror at the wall, not even flinching at the plethora of shards that painted the ground. She knew she had to think of a way to see Emma more often and _soon_ because the magical bond between the two was growing stronger by the day and they both grew more and more miserable apart from one another.

Having heard the noise coming from his daughter's bedchambers, Henry Mills hastily entered the room, silently questioning Regina.

Magically fixing her mirror, she flipped her long braid over her shoulder and looked pointedly at her father. "Daddy, I was angry." Knowing he was going to question the reason for her outburst, she held up a hand to silence him. "I sent Emma back home."

Knowing how important Emma was to her, he scratched his chin as he thought of a solution to his daughter's problem. "I am not sure how to help you, Regina. I will say that if it is meant to be, it will be."

With that, Henry left the room, leaving Regina to once again ponder how to see Emma more often without alarming the two idiots that called themselves her parents. She didn't even have to summon Rumpelstiltskin because he had already known she'd need him.

"Hello, dearie. What can I do for you?" There was a condescending tone left in the air after he spoke, telling Regina that he clearly knew something she didn't.

Scoffing at how big of a dramatist the imp was, she jumped straight to the point. "Help me see Emma more often. Even with the clone, Regina couldn't rely on the clone for all hours of everyday, because surely Snow and Charming would notice that this clone was not nearly as curious, intelligent, or witty as the original Emma.

Rumpelstiltskin pretended to think for a while until he finally suggested, "Why not cast the dark curse, Dearie?"

Regina had originally planned on casting the curse, but she found the price to be too steep. When Rumpel suggested she kill her father, the only person who truly loved her, she realized that this deed was too evil…even for the _Evil Queen_. Even now, she knew that this curse would never work. She had to take the heart of whom she loved most, and that person was the one she wanted to cast the curse for—Emma.

Rumpelstiltskin had to hold back a giggle as he watched the Queen figure out exactly what he meant. "I was simply teasing you, dearie. However, I do have a proposition for you. With the snap of his fingers, he conjured a primitive sheet of paper that read "The Light Blessing" in italic letters.

Nearly snatching the parchment away from the crocodile, Regina skimmed the document, reading all of the important bits and pieces in its entirety. She eagerly read through the words twice, growing more and more excited about this proposition the more she read about it.

When she finished reading it and was sure she'd thoroughly understood what she read she looked up at the imp and said, "Tell me what I have to do."


	8. Chapter 8

Thank you guys for reading this still! I'm sorry I've been bad about updating. Love you all x

Chapter 8

" _Tell me what I have to do."_

Tell me what exactly I have to do to ensure that this light blessing happens," Regina asked. She did not in any means want to rely on Rumpelstiltskin, but if this ensured that she would be with Emma and keep her away from her terrible parents, then she was willing to do it.

Rumpelstiltskin seemed to ponder his next words for a moment. Of course, the only reason he suggested it was because he was getting something tremendous out of it. He'd never do a favor if it didn't benefit him. "Well dearie, it is the opposite of the dark curse—quite literally." When the queen came closer, he chuckled and poofed himself across the room. "The light curse can only be done by the product of true love, with the purest form of magic of all."

"Emma," Regina whispered. Of course it was her Emma that would have to do this. "What does this blessing entail?" She asked.

Chuckling to himself at the Queen's excitement, he smiled to himself. "Instead of taking the heart of the one she loves the most, she must create an elixir with the blood of herself and her true love."

The Queen smiled to herself, _this should be easy,_ she thought. She began to plan the course of these events in her mind, but before she could figure out a solid plan of action the imp interrupted her.

"Ah ah ah," He held up a scaly finger, silencing the Queen. "There is a catch. Your little Emma must know that she is your true love and understand that she will never see her parents again—or that they'll never remember her after this."

At this, the Queen snarled and her smile immediately faded, as if by magic. How could she tell Emma such a thing? How could she corrupt such a beautiful soul at such a young age? How could she truly be the true love of someone that was physically twenty years younger than her? She swallowed the lump in her throat that formed and pushed past the cackling crocodile. She went to leave but not before turning and saying, "I am _not_ subjecting Emma to your deceitful plans. Find another way to reunite with your brat of a son."

The woman turned on her heels and left, leaving Rumpelstiltskin to smile to himself, convinced the Queen would reconsider sometime in the very near future.

The very next day, Emma sat in the library with Henry, looking through solutions for her Regina issue. In the library, there was a shelf that she hadn't looked through yet, but it was much too high up. She'd just mastered levitating objects, but she wasn't sure if she could pull such a heavy book from such a high height.

The little girl focused all of her energy on making the book come to her. Just like Regina taught her, she stared at the book, and thought about how badly she wanted to read it. To her surprise, a white aura surrounded the book as it levitated towards her. _"Wow,"_ Emma whispered to herself. Once the book was safely tucked in her arm, she waved goodbye to Henry and exited the library. She knew that Regina watched her occasionally, but would assume she was just reading an ordinary book, so she walked to her bedchambers. Regina had decorated Emma her own room right next to her own.

Opening the door, Emma sat down on the fluffy bed and opened the book. She got comfortable and began to read. Regina had shown her how to read quickly using her magic so that she didn't have to spend as much time reading because the princess often complained about there not being enough hours in the day for her to read books. Smiling about how kind her best friend was, Emma used her magic to read. Her eyebrows furrowed and her lips curled into a smile when her brain picked up on the words _blessing, elixir,_ and _true love_ she turned to the page she thought had the information about this so-called blessing.

She excitedly flipped to a page that looked magical. It had a white glow around the edges—exactly like her magic. The page read:

 _The Light Blessing_

 _The exact opposite of the dark curse, the light blessing is a way for one to escape their afflictions by giving everyone around them their happy-endings. This is not to be taken lightly, only the purest forms of magic can perform such a task. Only the product of true love can bless a population, and they must possess light magic._

 _Ingredients:_

 _1 elixir of blood from the blesser and their true love_

 _A lock of hair from the blesser's parents_

 _This may seem simple, but if the blesser is manipulated into performing this act, it will not work. Do beware that should the blesser succeed, they will forget who their true love is._

Emma began to squeal but remembered that Regina would hear her. The little girl's mind was going crazy. On one hand, she was dying of joy because she'd found a way to save both herself and Regina. On the other hand, she was puzzled because she had absolutely no idea who her true love was. How could she find her destined soul mate in such a short amount of time? Deciding that Regina would know what to do, the little girl ripped the page out of her book and sprinted through the corridor and into the Queen's bedchambers. The guard that was guarding the Queen's room didn't even flinch as he knew the princess had special privileges.

Emma burst into the room just as the Queen appeared in her signature purple smoke. The minute she saw Emma, her frown immediately turned into a bright smile. "Emma!"

Emma ran across the room and hugged the Queen, relishing in such affectionate contact with her friend. "Hello Gina, there is something I want to show you!"

Regina eagerly nodded at the little girl, interested in what she wanted to show her. She thought it was another magic spell Emma wished to learn, but upon seeing the large words at the top of the page, her heart skipped a beat. _Emma knew?_ She thought. Knowing she needed to sit down for this conversation, she read the page and found herself growing anxious for the conversation she needed to have. Before she could speak though, Emma jumped up and down, clapping her hands.

"It's the perfect plan Gina! The blessing says it needs to be used by someone who's both the product of true love and possesses light magic—that's me! The only issue is that I have no idea who my true love is, I'm only eight…" Emma hung her head, clearly disappointed about the stall in her plan.

Regina's heart sunk at seeing Emma so distraught. She honestly just wanted to find a way to make both her and her princess happy, but she did not know how to destroy her innocence so soon. She gazed back at the page, trying to find something to say to Emma that might be of worth when she glanced at the last sentence. She read the words: _Do beware that should the blesser succeed, they will forget who their true love is._ Her lips curled into a beautiful smile as she fully realized what that meant. It meant that Emma wouldn't remember that she was her true love once the blessing was cast. It meant that they could go back to being who they were without her stealing Emma's innocence for long. It meant that she could _finally_ be happy.

Taking a deep breath, Regina looked Emma in the eye and whispered, "Emma, I'm your true love."


	9. Chapter 9

Hey guys, thank you for all the support! I will give you a (kind of) hint: although this story could take a lot of turns for the worst, this story isn't really angsty or dramatic—I hoped my genres (Romance & Adventure) would give that away. I like fluff, a lot. Enjoy this chapter x

Chapter 9

" _Emma I'm your true love."_

The minute she uttered those words, Regina was sure she'd scare away the little girl and lose her only best friend—the only person who mattered. A tear ran down her face as she said those words to the one person who had faith in her despite what her parents had told her, a tear was shed because she was so afraid of losing the only person she loved besides her father.

To her surprise, Emma reached up and wiped the tear away from her eye. She placed both of her little hands on the Queen's face and pulled her closer to plant a soft kiss on her forehead. As if she couldn't be sweeter, she brought Regina in for a hug and whispered, "I was hoping it were you. I don't know exactly what that means but we're best friends, right? Best friends wouldn't be best friends if their love weren't true."

And if Regina wasn't completely aware of what true love meant, that would be enough for her. She felt even more tears roll down her cheeks, and she welcomed them, because for the first time in her life, she loved someone who loved her back—she loved someone as fiercely as they loved her. "Emma, you are the sweetest person I know. So sweet that I know you'd go through with the blessing simply for my sake—are you sure this is what you want?"

Emma pretended to think about her response for a moment, and suddenly cried, "Are you serious Gina?! You're only the most important person in my life right now!"

The Queen chuckled at how vehement Emma seemed about this. She got up and walked over to her bed, pulling Emma into her lap. "Alright, my little Swan. We shall do this. Does it not bother you that you'll forget that it is I who is your true love?"

This the little girl did seem to think about. "Not really. I won't forget that we're best friends, and that's what really matters, right Gina?"

At this, the Queen nodded, grateful that Emma hadn't brought up her parents' true love or anything of the sort. Regina still couldn't seem to accept that such an innocent human being could be meant to be with such a malicious, cruel woman. _Ain't fate a bitch?_

Emma shifted in Regina's lap and turned to face the older woman, "I can get some hair from my parents when I return to their palace," Emma said.

Regina grinned at the sound of _their palace_. It made her so happy inside to know that Emma considered the Dark Kingdom her home—specifically her home. "You must be discrete about it dear, alright? I do not want you getting into any trouble or them finding out about our plan."

Emma nodded, "I promise Gina." As if Emma couldn't be any cuter, her mouth curled into a giant smile, "I am soooo excited Gina! Aren't you?"

Regina tried to keep a straight face and not indulge in child-like behavior, but she failed when she noticed she started giggling along with Emma and they ended up tangled in her bed in a fit of giggles.

"Emma?"

"Yes Gina?"

"Would you like to stay the night?" Already knowing the answer, Regina conjured up a nightgown from Emma's bedchambers and magically dressed Emma in it.

"How'd you know?"

Regina raised her eyebrow in a way that said _"Were you really going to say no?"_ "I just did."

Emma decided to be risky and ask Regina if she could sleep with her that night. "Gina, can I sleep with you?"

The Queen's body went rigid and her face went pale as she considered the question. "Why would you want to sleep with me dear?"

Emma looked at her as if she'd asked the dumbest question ever. "Because I want to cuddle? Snuggles are fun! My mommy and daddy used to snuggle with me but ever since they found out about the new baby they've been too busy." Emma purposely casted her gaze downward and pouted.

Regina knew this was probably Emma just exaggerating, but the princess looked so sad she couldn't say no. An olive finger touched the princess's chin in order to lift her head. "Emma, sweetheart I'm not saying no, but there's something I wish to share with you."

Emma's eyebrows furrowed. _What could Regina possibly tell her that she didn't already know?_ "What is it Gina, are you sick?" The little girl immediately pressed the back of her hand to the Queen's forehead, feeling for a high temperature. "You don't have a fever, what's wrong?"

Regina's heart warmed at how sweet the little girl could be. "You're very sweet, dear, but no I am not ill." She grew even paler as she thought of how she could tell an 8 year old such a thing. "You see Emma, I was not born like a normal little girl…" She trailed off, clearly feeling more than uncomfortable.

Despite Emma's age, she knew that whatever it was was enough to make the Queen feel ashamed of herself, and she didn't want her to feel badly—no matter what. "Gina, just tell me. I'll still be your best friend, promise."

That gave Regina all the confidence she needed. "You know how you have girl private parts, right?"

Emma slowly nodded, not quite seeing where Regina was going with this.

Regina gulped and decided to simply tell her, "I was born with male parts...I'm a girl and a boy—if that makes any sense." She watched as Emma's face seemed to show one emotion—indifference.

The little girl shrugged, and brought Regina into a bear hug. "Even if you had mermaid parts, I'd still love you. If we're being completely honest, I'm kind of disappointed you're not secretly a mermaid, that'd be very cool!"

Regina feigned anger as she chased Emma around her room, claiming she was going to destroy her happiness if it was the last thing she did. Emma, remembering this from the storybook, laughed so hard that she collapsed onto the floor without landing. Regina landed next to her, both in a fit of giggles once again.

"Emma, I'm too old to be chasing you around." She felt a pinch in response. "Ow! What the hell was that for?"

"I read in my book that your mother put a youth spell on you when you turned twenty. You're not old at all, don't tell lies."

At the mention of her mother, Regina cringed, which did not go unnoticed by the princess.

"Sorry Gina, I won't speak of her again."

"It's quite alright dear."

The two seemed to sit in silence as they thought about each other and the blessing.

"Gina?"

"Yes, dear?"

"After the blessing…where are we going?"

There was a pregnant pause.

"Some place wonderful."

-SQSQSQSQSQSQSQSQSQSQSQSQSQSQSQ-

The next morning, Emma woke up not in Regina's bed, but in her own bed. She figured Regina must've sent her body back while she was asleep. It bothered her that she didn't get to say goodbye, but then she remembered her current mission and that made her feel much better.

She'd decided to name it Operation Happy Ending, and even though Regina acted as if she hated the name she could totally see the corners of the Queen's lips threatening to curl into a smile every time she called their plan that.

The little girl got dressed and headed down to the dining hall to eat breakfast with her parents.

"Goodmorning Emma," they supplied.

Usually, Emma didn't hug her parents in the mornings, but she wanted to get their hair as soon as possible so that she could do the blessing. "Mommy, daddy, may I have a hug?"

Both her parents seemed startled by the sudden question, but seemed happy to oblige nonetheless. "Of course you can," they applied in unison.

Emma ran up to them to embrace them whilst quickly conjuring a pair of scissors, and she quickly cut small locks of hair from their heads and sent both the scissors and the hair to her bedchambers.

Charming looked at his daughter skeptically and asked, "What has gotten into you, Emma? You've been quite distant lately and all of a sudden you want a hug?"

Snow looked at Charming as if a lightbulb went off in her head. "Oh! Emma are you jealous of the baby? Is that what this is about?" She patted the chair next to her leaving Emma with no choice but to sit down next to her. She looked her daughter in the eye and said, "Sweetheart, I don't want you to be jealous of this baby. Your father and I will still love you as much as we do now, I promise. We just wanted a new baby so we wouldn't make the mistakes we did with you."

Emma had to wonder exactly what her mother meant by this. "I'm not sure what you mean—are you saying that I'm a mistake?"

Charming had the nerve to look guilty at this. He quickly denied it, "No, Emma, we're just saying that we went too easy on you. You ask a lot of questions and that doesn't get you very far as a princess…princesses are supposed to be seen, not heard."

Snow chimed in, "Your father is right Emma. How do you expect to marry a handsome prince if you can't keep your mouth shut for five seconds?"

The blonde could feel the anger bubbling up inside of her and she could also feel hot tears fall down her face and onto her arm. "I have to go."

Leaving no room for her parents to respond, the little girl ran back to her bedchambers. Magically locking her doors, she grabbed her satchel and placed her book, some magic books Regina had given her, and the locks of hair inside as she focused all her energy on the one person she needed the most.

Regina stood in front of her mirror, fixing her hair. She needed to attend court today and she wasn't in the greatest of moods. Her father had come in earlier and reminded her that she was always grumpy when Emma wasn't around (which was very true), but she'd been far too grumpy to have such a conversation with the man.

Once she decided she looked presentable enough, she turned to exit her bedchambers. When she was about to leave, she saw a flash of white magic in front of her which was soon Emma.

The Queen at first was proud that she'd mastered such advanced magic in such a short period of time, but now she was concerned—Emma looked as though her heart had been broken. Despite the cost of her outfit, the queen crouched down on her knees and brought the tiny little girl into her arms, rubbing her back as she sobbed.

"My sweet Emma, tell me what happened."

Emma began telling her about what happened with her parents as Regina held her through her cries. By the time she was finished, Regina had never been more angry before in her life. It was one thing for Snow White to ruin _her_ happiness, but to destroy Emma's as well? No. Regina needed to act now.

"Emma, did you get the hair?"

Emma genuinely grinned for the first time since she'd arrived. "Of course I did."

Regina did a happy dance that she was happy no one was around to see. "Looks like Operation Happy Ending is a go."

Emma couldn't hide her smirk as she heard Regina use her name for their plan. "I knew you liked it."

The Queen rolled her eyes, failing to hide the smile that crept upon her features. "Whatever, Emma! Give me your hand, quickly."

Regina conjured a blade and a vile. "Emma, give me your hand."

Emma obliged and grit her teeth together in pain as Regina slid the blade across her hand.

Letting the blood fall into the vile, Regina did the same to her own hand.

"The hair?" Once Emma handed her the two idiots' hair, Regina dropped that into the vile and watched as it turned a bright blue color. She used her magic to light the fireplace in her bedchambers and led Emma to stand in front of it.

She conjured the page with the spell written on it and pointed to the words. "Emma, you must read this words and focus all your energy on how badly you want this for us, alright dear?"

Too excited to respond, Emma nodded. She grabbed the paper from the Queen and began to read, _"Machni ershni saut a demine ut beneficio."_ She threw the vile into the fire and held onto Regina as the ground began to shake.

A white cloud emerged from the fireplace, and the two held each other as they became engulfed in it. Regina closed her eyes and she wished for her happy ending- she wished for a new life.

 **NOTE:** When I counted the votes, it was Regina G!P(80) and Emma G!P (76). Very close!


	10. Chapter 10

Thank you guys for supporting this! I allowed you guys to vote because I like both Emma and Regina G!P equally, I don't have a preference. To those of you that aren't going to continue reading due to this, I simply ask that you keep your comments to yourself and continue to live your lives. My story is here for those who want to read it, and if you don't, don't waste your time or my time by leaving negative comments- they aren't wanted or appreciated :) Enjoy! x

Chapter 10

Regina Mills woke up one morning inside of an extremely soft bed, fit for a queen. Feeling the sheets, she smiled to herself when she felt that both the sheets and her pajamas were silk. Looking around the decor of the room, she saw a beautiful arm chair in the corner of the room, and a fire place directly in front of her. The room was nearly as big as her bed chambers inside her castle, but not quite. She could hardly contain her joy when she looked outside the window and saw a town of people, with a giant clock that ticked, signaling that it was 8:00.

The Queen smiled to herself, happy to see that the blessing had worked. She wondered where her Emma was in all of this. Before she had the chance to find out, she heard the tapping of tiny feet outside her door and saw the girl in question bursting into her room.

"Gina, it worked!" the little girl squealed. She nearly jumped into the queen's arms causing her to laugh at how excited she was. Emma was so happy that the blessing had worked and that she could finally be content with Regina.

Regina planted a soft kiss on Emma's forehead, patting unruly curls. "Yes Emma, it did work. Are you happy?"

Emma nodded. "I'm so happy, I just want to feel loved."

Regina felt her heart constrict at the sound of this. "Oh Emma, I'm so sorry you did not feel loved by your parents. But you know what? I promise you'll never feel anything less than loved." She tapped the little girl on her nose, eliciting a giggle.

When Emma went to play with the queen's hair like she usually did, she noticed it was dramatically shorter than it usually was. "Gina... look at your hair."

Regina's eyebrows furrowed at what Emma was suggesting. What was wrong with her hair? She stepped in front of the grand mirror that stood in the room and caught sight of her hair. "Ahhhhh!" The Queen screamed as if someone cut her head off.

Emma was reduced to a pile of giggles upon seeing Regina's reaction to having shorter hair. She held her stomach, she couldn't stop laughing so hard. There was something hilarious about seeing the woman act so out of character.

Regina glared at the little girl, only making her laugh more. "I do not see what is funny, Emma."

Emma only laughed harder. Holding her belly, she managed to get out, "Gina, you're funny. I must say though, you're still the fairest of all."

This warmed Regina's heart more than words could express. "Thank you Emma, but I believe that is you my dear." She ran up to the little girl and began tickling her, "That is what you get for laughing at me, Swan!"

"Gi-Gi-Gina!" Emma was laughing so hard she felt as if she might pee on herself "St-stop or I'll relieve myself on your floor!"

The Queen immediately stopped. She had no idea what kind of animal was covering the expanse of her floor, but it looked and felt too nice to be ruined with bodily fluids. Pulling Emma back into her arms, she said, "What do you say we explore our new home and then the town a bit, hmm?"

Nodding, Emma said, "Come see my room!" The little girl grabbed Regina's hand and dragged her down the hallway(past many rooms) and into a room that had quite literally hundreds of books inside. Instead of wallpaper, there were books, and instead of carpet there was hardwood that was in sections that could slide easily so Emma could gain access to the books inside.

Regina gasped, "Emma, how on earth are you going to read all of these books?"

Emma grinned, "Gina, I bet I'll have finished all of these in the next year."

The Queen raised her eyebrow at the little girl and scoffed, "I'd like to see you try it."

Emma simply smiled at Regina before grabbing her arm and leading her through the house. From what Regina could see, she quite literally lived inside a mansion. The house was built for a Queen. Once Regina entered what she assumed was the kitchen, she became confused by all of the gadgets inside. "Emma, do you know what this is?" She held up the toaster as she turned the foreign object in her hands.

Emma merely shook her head. "I saw a book in my room with directions on how to operate everything, I should be able to learn everything by tomorrow and teach you."

This made Regina feel better. She didn't know if she liked this seemingly new world or not, but she was going to have to get used to it. "So Emma, why don't you get changed and meet me down here when you're finished? I would cook us breakfast, but I think we both know that I haven't got a firm grasp on much."

Smirking, Emma went upstairs to her room to change her clothes. Regina opened the "metal box" inside the kitchen and saw that it was filled with food. "Kenmore," she read. "I think I like this new kenmore," she said to herself. Deciding to change into new clothes herself, she made the trek up the stairs only to find that there were 7 different doors upstairs and she had no idea which bedroom was her own. "Guess and check never hurt anyone," she mumbled to herself. Regina literally opened every single door before finding that her bedroom was the last one. "Figures."

She was only reminded of how large her room was by entering it through the door. There were two additional doors inside the room, and she figured one must be a dressing room of sorts. Opting for the door on the left, she screamed when lights came on as soon as she walked inside. Her hand flew to her chest, trying to catch her breath. Damn, she hated this new world. Her fear lasted briefly though upon seeing a large room filled with clothing. It was nothing like her wardrobe as queen, but something told her she had been equipped with the finest clothing that was possible.

Regina began sifting through the endless supply of clothing to find a dark red blouse and a black pencil skirt. She unbuttoned her silk pajamas and neatly folded them and placed them on the chair nearby. Slipping on the shirt, she left one button undone so that she could show just enough cleavage but not too much. She smiled when she saw the skirt clung to her curves, but not so tight that she looked like a common whore. When she went to find shoes, she slipped into a pair of black, pointy-toed heels and sighed when she felt that familiar arch in her feet that she was so used to feeling.

Deciding to forgo jewelry completely, she walked over to the dresser and opened one of the drawers and gasped. "Holy shit that's a lot of makeup." There was a lipstick shade for every color of the rainbow, and although the Queen generally only wore red lipstick she was pleased to see there was a wide variety of pinks and purples should she decide to go rogue. She sat down and carefully began applying her makeup, making sure it looked impeccable in case she needed to assert her supremacy over some peasants.

Emma had been waiting in the foyer for Regina, but sighed when she realized the woman was probably putting on her makeup- which took up a lot of her time. Instead of using magic, she preferred to do it by hand. Emma rolled her eyes as she remembered all the times she had to wait for Regina to finish doing her makeup. Noisily stomping up the stairs, she ran into the Queen's bedroom and walked straight into the open closet.

"Ginaaaaaa," Emma whined. "You always take forever to do your makeup."

Smirking at the little girl, the Queen turned around and watched as Emma gasped. "Gina, you're so pretty..."

She kissed Emma on the cheek and wiped away the smudged lipstick from her smooth skin. "Emma, you're beautiful. Look in the mirror." She turned Emma so that she could see herself in the mirror. Long, blonde curls flowed down her shoulders and Emma was dressed in an adorable dress that made her look even cuter.

Emma blushed as she looked at herself in the mirror. "I guess I look okay..."

Regina hugged her, "You look more than okay. What do you say we go get something to eat and look around town, hmm?"

Emma nodded and grabbed onto Regina's hand as the Queen led her out of the house. When they got to the door, Regina saw a set of keys and a purse hanging on a hook next to the door. Grabbing both, she led Emma out of the house and locked the door with the key that fit inside the hole.

Emma was the first to gasp upon seeing what was in their driveway. "Gina, what is that?"

Regina was so used to having an answer for everything, but she had no idea what to say to that. "I don't know dear, but we will find out later. How about we walk?" She suggested, not even worried about the five inch heels she was wearing.

The two began to walk into town where there were actual people. A short man(okay, a dwarf) started to approach the two. Both Emma and Regina were very familiar with this man- Grumpy. He approached them with a woman next to him. To their surprise, he said, "Goodmorning Madame Mayor, Emma."

The two watched as he left with his hands interlocked with the woman next to him. Regina looked at Emma quizzically as if to ask who that woman was and Emma simply responded, "Thats Astrid. His true love."

Shrugging the situation off though slightly irritated that she was not aware of this, Regina and Emma continued walking until they saw a restaurant called "Granny's Diner."

Inside the restaurant, Regina was greeted by a woman with red streaks in her hair, barely dressed. Regina let her eyes wander down her body as she took in the white tank top that was tied just beneath her breasts to expose a toned stomach. She was wearing shorts that showed off her long legs and toned calves. It took Regina a lot of self control to stop herself from hungrily gazing at the brunette.

If the waitress noticed, she never said anything. "Goodmorning Emma, Goodmorning Mayor Mills! I have your usual table ready for you." Ruby led them to a table in the corner of the diner away from all of the people and placed two menus on the table in front of them two. "I'll be back to take your order."

Regina looked at Emma, dumbfounded. "She looks oddly familiar, do you know who that is Emma?"

Emma nodded, "That's Ruby, my mother's best friend." She frowned at the mention of her mother, but didn't elaborate on her discomfort.

Regina figured Emma didn't want to talk about it. Luckily, Ruby came back to collect their orders.

"I'll have the apple pancakes and Emma here will have...?"

Emma thought about what she wanted for a second. "Hmm I'll have the same thing as Gina."

Ruby wrote down their orders and turned to leave before she exclaimed, "Oh! I almost forgot about your drinks. What will you be having?"

Emma seemed to easily make her mind up, "We'll both have hot cocoa with whipped cream and cinnamon!" When Regina started to protest, Emma gave her the best puppy dog eyes she could muster and smiled when she saw it work.

Ruby left to put in their orders while Emma and Regina sat staring at each other. "Gina?"

"Yes, Emma?" That familiar tug at her lips was back as she welcomed another one of Emma's famous questions. She didn't understand why her parents detested her questions so much. The more questions Emma asked, the more intelligent she became. Regina loved that quality.

"Are you happy?"

It was such a simple question, yet such a complex one all at the same time. Regina was going to say no, and give the same reasons she'd been giving ever since Snow White practically killed her lover, but she took one look at Emma and smiled softly, "Yes."

That seemed to appease the little girl as she said, "I'm happy too."

The two seemed to bask in this moment they were having until they were interrupted by the chimes of the door. They both watched as Snow White and Prince Charming entered the diner. Charming held Snow by the waist, who was clearly showing her pregnancy.

Unbeknownst to Emma and Regina, Regina had gotten up and sat next to Emma as a means of protection. They watched as the two idiots said hello to everyone inside the diner and started to make their way over to them.

Snow looked at Regina, and then Emma for a little longer and said, "Goodmorning Mayor Mills and Emma!" Charming repeated what Snow said and it took everything in them not to scoff at the two idiots.

When they left, Regina went back over to her side of the booth and thanked Ruby as she brought their food and hot chocolate. She loved Emma and would do anything to protect her.


	11. Chapter 11

Hey guys, I'm sooo sorry for the delay! I feel awful. Though this is a relatively short chapter, I will be updating much more frequently. I love this story. I'm thinking after either this chapter or the next I'll have a time jump.

Chapter 11

Later that night, Emma was reading one of her books while Regina prepared dinner. Emma had provided her with one of the books in her room with the recipe for what was known as "lasagna". She was just finishing her current chapter when they heard a knock on the door.

"I'll get it!" Emma threw her book down and went towards the door. When she opened it, it revealed Ruby or Red, her godmother. She had to admit, she missed her godmother deeply so she jumped into the wolf's arms, eliciting a squeal. "Hi god mommy!" After claiming the wolf's face in kisses, she allowed Red to step inside the house and wasn't too surprised to see her walk in with Graham, the sheriff of the town.

Regina put the final finishing touches on her lasagna and went to see who Emma had let in. "Emma make sure you ask who it is first, alright darling?" When the girl nodded, the Queen turned her attention to the two and invited them into her living room.

After having taken their coats and settling down, Regina breaks the silence. "What brings you two here?"

Ruby, being the one who usually did the talking speaks first. "We're here because we have some information to relay to you about this blessing of yours," She paused when she saw the surprised look on Regina's face, "Yes, we all know. Everyone in the town knows except Snow and Charming. We all have new names, and we've been all been granted our happy endings." She took Graham's hand in her own and looked at him lovingly.

"So who's to say Snow and Charming won't find out about what really happened to them?" Emma asked. Regina beamed at the young girl for asking such a good question that she herself would have asked had the blonde not brought it up.

Ruby nodded, taking the girl's question into consideration. "Well, the blessing physically restrains us from mentioning it or even hinting at it to Mary Margaret and David. I can talk about it with whom ever I want, just not those two. It really is a blessing, everyone got their happy endings- even them, but they're oblivious as to how or why."

Regina took a moment to compose herself before asking, "How is it that you know all of this?" Surely, it wasn't included that there would be a person in the blessing that would have all the facts. The only way Red would know would be from Rumpelstiltskin.

As if reading the queen's mind Red nodded, "Rumpelstiltskin supplied us with all the information we'd need. If you could give us a moment Emma, there's something we need to discuss."

Emma pouted, but when she saw the firm look Regina gave her she went up to her room to finish her book.

"We know that Emma is your true love. No one else in town knows, but we know. Because of this, it'd be weird for you to raise your true love. I'm not Emma's parent, but I was designed to be her mother figure should she need someone to fill that role. After all, I am her godmother."

Regina could feel a pang of jealousy, but a quick thought of what was truly best for Emma entered her mind and she completely erased the thought. "You're right, Red. If you could be here for just a few hours a day that would be a big help. I don't want Emma to view me as a mother figure, that would be confusing to her."

Red was happy that Regina hadn't been selfish about this. She could see the wheels turning in the queen's head. "I'm happy you agree with me, Regina. I truly do wish you and Emma the best, I just want Emma to have a normal childhood."

Nodding, Regina got out of her seat and smoothed the imaginary wrinkles on her skirt. "Now, who's ready for some lasagna?" She wasn't particularly found of the two due to their proximity to Snow White, but she could tell Red cared a great deal about Emma and her well-being and she knew Emma needed a bigger support system than she currently had.

Dinner was a blast, by the end everyone was giggling like crazy. They all heard the big clock chime, signaling that it was 9:00. Red looked at Regina as if silently asking a question to which Regina nodded.

"Alright Emma, time for bed!"

Normally, Emma would have protested but seeing as her room was equipped with multiple flashlights and hundreds of books, she knew she wasn't going to actually go to sleep. Either way though, she padded her way over to Regina and gave the brunette the sloppiest kiss on the cheek that she could muster.

"Emma, gross!" Regina tried to seem angry but as soon as the little blonde burst into giggles she too could not hide her amusement. She pulled the little girl in, planting a soft kiss on her cheek.

"Ginaaaaa, you put lipstick on me!" Emma whined, completely serious. She always told Regina she looked a million times prettier without any makeup. The brunette always blushed and shrugged her shoulders when she said that.

Red held out her hand waiting for Emma to accept it. After giving Regina one last kiss, Emma obliged, accepting the hand held out for her.

~SQSQSQSQSQSQSQSQSQSQSQSQSQSQ~

That next morning, Regina woke up early before Emma was awake to make a visit to the imp who was basically responsible for all of this.

She knocked on his door and was pleasantly surprised to see the very woman she had been planning to use against him as collateral damage. "Hello, dear."

Not sure whether to be afraid of the queen or welcome her inside, she merely shrugged in indifference. "H-hello Regina," she stuttered. She opened the door wider to let the queen inside, and called for her true love.

Rumpelstiltskin entered the open room clearly not surprised to see the woman. "Hello, dearie. What brings you here?" He knew exactly what the queen desired, but it was fun to make her explain herself and toy with her.

"I'm inquiring about the nature of this blessing. It is the complete opposite of the curse, I'm not sure what my vocation is or what Emma is supposed to be doing." She truly wasn't sure of what to do with this blessing. She had a lack of information and as the Evil Queen, she hated being misinformed.

He seemed to ponder this for a second before asking, "Would you like the good or the bad news first, dearie?" He chuckled when she scowled at him for dragging out his answer. "Very well, then. You are the mayor of this town. There is a town hall with several offices. Everyone that works for you is already there, doing their work. Inside the town hall is a very large office...fit for a queen if you will. On the desk, there is a potion that will give you all the knowledge you need to lead the town. Do not abuse your power because should you disgruntle the people, they may not re-elect you."

Regina could feel her head spinning at how complicated this blessing seemed to be. The curse had been far more simple in her opinion, a lot less of her having to fill in so many blanks. Before she could ask her next question, the imp interrupted- "Oh and dearie, your Emma shall attend the elementary school not too far from your house. Her teacher is Snow White." The man relished in the scowl that consumed the Queen's face. He chortled as he watched the ill-tempered woman storm out of his shop. Oh how the Evil Queen amused him.

To say that Regina was mad would be an understatement. She couldn't hide her jealousy at the fact that Emma would be spending the majority of her days with Snow White. She wondered if Emma would end up regretting that she left Snow White and Charming and want to break the blessing. She hoped not.

She climbed in her black Mercedes Benz and made her way back to her princess.

When Regina got inside the house, she smelled something delicious in the kitchen. She took of her shoes and coat and put her keys in the dish next to the coat rack. "Emma?" She asked.

"In here!" Was all the Queen heard. She could feel her face breaking into a smile even though she had no idea what Emma was cooking for her. When she stepped into the kitchen, she saw Emma covered in what she assumed was flour making pancakes from scratch. She had no idea where Emma got her cooking skills from, but she already knew the food was going to taste delicious.

"Hello, Emma. Im sorry I left you for so long, I didn't know my errand was going to take so long. Thank you for cooking, you certainly didn't have to, I hope you're being careful." Despite agreeing with Red that she would take the backseat in raising Emma, she still couldn't help but express her concern over the little girl cooking.

Emma giggled at how protective the Queen was. "I'm being careful Gina, I promise. I wanted to do something special for you so I made apple pancakes. I hope that's okay?"

Regina could feel the tears threatening to spill over her eyelids. Her little swan was so

thoughtful. "Thank you Emma, you know apple pancakes are my favorite. I appreciate this more than you know little one."

Emma couldn't help the blush that creeped upon her features, clearly happy she's pleased Regina. Once the pancakes were ready and served, she watched as the brunette lifted the fork to her mouth, tasting the delicious concoction. "Mmmm, Emma these are delicious! They're better than my papa's."

Speaking of Henry, Regina made a mental note to check up on his whereabouts, though she had a pretty good idea of just where he was.

"Emma, would you like to go pay a visit to my father once we've finished?"

The little girl eagerly nodded. Besides Regina, Henry was her favorite person in the whole universe. "Why doesn't he live here with us? It'd be much easier for me to tell him about all my personal library if he lived with me."

Regina agreed, but something told her he had a library of his own.

~SQSQSQSQSQSQSQSQSQSQSQSQSQSQ~

Henry Sr. was in the library putting books onto the shelves when he heard the bell ring. Him and Belle owned the place, but he mostly managed it because apparently her and Rumpelstiltskin were trying to start a family.

He turned just in time to see the little blonde that had captured his affections run into his arms. He opened his arms wide to pull the little girl in for a bear hug. Kissing the girl's cheek, he beamed, "Emma! How are you?"

The girl smiled at the older man, "I'm well papa."

At the use of the name, Regina's eyes flashed up to Henry's, but he simply smiled and reassured Regina that it was okay that she call him that. "I missed you, how have you been coping?"

Emma knew just what he was asking. "I've been doing alright... sometimes I miss my mommy and daddy just because I was used to being with them but Gina always makes me forget and remember what's important." She looked back at the Queen, love shining through her eyes.

Henry noted how close the two seemed to have gotten with the blessing and couldn't help worry for Emma. He knew how pure the girl was compared to his daughter and he truly prayed that his daughter would cause no harm to her, neither purposely or accidentally.

"Daddy are you alright?" Regina asked. The man nodded. "I just came by to see where you were. Where are you staying?"

Henry took great joy in telling her, "I'm staying here. There is an apartment attached to this library that I stay in, the room is filled with even more books!" He seemed so excited at the thought of having so many books to read.

"Papa I have a library too, right in my room! There's hundreds of books." Emma nearly squealed.

Regina listened as Emma and her father bonded over the books they'd been blessed with. She couldn't help but wonder why Emma called her father papa. She reminded herself to ask her later on why she referred to him as that. Not that she minded, it was just stranger. Her and Emma were not relatives and she did not want Emma thinking such.

Watching them, she couldn't help the tug she felt at her heart. She couldn't help but tear up at the sight of the two people she loved most deep in conversation. She loved her life. Most of all though, she loved Emma.


	12. Chapter 12

Hello, I'm sooo sorry about the wait. I've just been feeling uninspired lately, but I'm back and I'm here to stay. I decided this story will probably be updated every Tuesday so tune in weekly. If someone wants to be my beta and/or help me finish writing this story, please PM me! I'm going to have a time jump after this chapter so, enjoy! X

Chapter 12

The next day was Emma's first day at the Elementary school. As much as Regina had wanted to be the one to take her and see her off, she knew that it was crucial that she kept their relationship as far from familial as possible. Also, she thought because Emma spent so much time with her it would be good for her to spend time with Red. Putting the finishing touches on her makeup, she walked into Emma's room to wish her a good first day at school.

"Good morning little one," She pulled the young girl into her arms for a bone-crushing hug, "I am so proud of you for starting school and I know you will do amazing; you are so very smart." Regina beamed at the little girl, the truth evident in her voice. She kneeled down so that she and Emma were eye-to-eye and pulled something out of her coat pocket. "This cell phone is for you. I'm not sure if it's one you'll like, it was the only good one at the store. If anything should happen, feel free to call me. Alright?"

Emma nodded and pulled Regina in for a little hug. Giggling, she said, "Relax, Gina. Nothing is going to happen. Besides, you're a call away."

Listening to the girl's reasoning, Regina calmed herself. _She's right, Regina…nothing will happen_. The queen stood up and gave Emma a key ring. "These are the keys to the house. The blue key is to the front door, the pink is to the back door. Please lock up or have Ruby lock up once you leave." Giving her one last kiss she added, "I love you." And she did. It may not be in a romantic way yet, but she loved Emma with all her heart and she always would.

"I love you too, good luck at work!"

Regina had to pull herself away from Emma to keep herself from tearing up and ruining her face. Even though she hadn't known Emma for a long period of time, she'd become so accustomed to having her around all the time that she couldn't imagine spending the day without her. However, there was work to be done and a blessing to be lived out.

She walked out to her car and drove down the road. Luckily, Rumpelstiltskin had informed her that the town hall was down the street from her home so that she didn't have to use the GPS. Still having no idea what it was and exactly why she needed this GPS person, she drove to the town hall and her eyes lit up when she saw how large the building was. _Built for a queen,_ she thought. Her glee only increased when she took note of her very own parking space and elevator. Once she got up to her office, she felt truly satisfied when she saw how spacious it was and how closely it matched the theme of her castle back in the enchanted forest. "Now this I can work with," she said.

Regina walked over to her desk to see as promised, there was a purple potion sitting in front of her. She felt reluctant to swallow the potion because she didn't trust that imp in the slightest, but she had no choice because living in this world gave her anxiety she didn't even know she had. Making herself comfortable, she took the cork out of the vial and quickly downed the potion.

In an instant, she felt herself begin to unlock knowledge she felt she'd had all along. Laws, protocol, traffic rules, modern technology, history, all of it came to her. She felt as if she was the smartest woman in the world and suddenly, running a small town in another dimension did not bother her so much. "I can do this," she said to herself. She didn't even have time to finish her pep talk because a man burst into the room.

"Madame Mayor!" Sydney Glass came bursting into the room as loud as ever.

Regina couldn't believe the man she'd imprisoned in a mirror was finally free. She didn't know whether to be angry that one of her best spells had been undone or happy that she still seemed to command power in this new world. "Mr. Glass, show some respect. After all, this is _my_ office and you did not so much as knock before entering. Gods, you'd think the zombie apocalypse were happening."

Sydney at least had the nerve to look sheepish. "My apologies, Madam Mayor, I just coming to inform you that you have a meeting in an hour with the town council."

Rolling her eyes, she dismissed him with the flick of her hand. "Thank you, Mr. Glass. You may see yourself out." It was times like these that she truly hated having no magic. If a guard had barged into her chambers or throne room like that, she would have crushed his heart in an instant and fed the dust to his children.

The queen sighed, it was going to be a long day.

Emma was having a blast at school. Even though she had to deal with her awful excuse for a mother, she had already made so many friends and she loved learning. Her favorite friend was named Lilly. She was so kind and shared Emma's love for reading.

It was lunch time and she was missing her Gina more than ever. The little girl made her way to the bathroom and sat in one of the stalls. She pulled her phone out and sent a text to her favorite person.

 **Emma: I miss you.**

She did not expect a response, but then again, she didn't think about the fact that the queen may have worried for her safety and checked her phone thinking something was amiss.

 **Regina: Emma, you had me so very worried. Of course, I miss you as well, most likely more, but only use your phone during school for emergencies. I am in a meeting so I will see you later. Red will pick you up from school. I love you.**

She was both disappointed that she wouldn't be seeing Regina right away, but she was also happy that she was going to spend time with her godmother. She made up for what her biological mother wasn't. Putting her phone away, she headed back to the lunchroom only to see that lunch had ended and that everyone was out playing. She had been about to join them when she felt a hand on her shoulder.

"Emma, is everything alright?" The little girl turned to see it was only none other than her mother, Snow White.

"Yes, Ms. Blanchard, everything is okay." She tried to hurry to get away from the woman but Snow just didn't know how to end a conversation.

"Well, if you ever need anything you know where to find me. Every child deserves to be happy!"

Emma couldn't help but bite back a smart remark at what her mother had said. If only the real Snow White believed that. She had made Emma miserable when they lived in the Enchanted Forest. Nodding at the woman, she turned on her heels and walked out of the room and outside. _That was weird_ , she thought.

After school, Emma went to Red's house and ate dinner with her and Graham. She missed Regina, but she had a lot of fun with her godmother. Whenever her parents made her sad, Red always knew how to make her laugh. That was what she loved most about the woman.

Now, it was 7 pm and they were driving back to her house. She could not stop her heart from beating excitedly in her chest at the thought of seeing Regina. Part of her wondered why this was, but she figured it was just because they shared true love as friends. Emma tried not to bounce in her seat as the large, white mansion came into sight.

Before the car was even in park, Emma grabbed her bag and rushed out of the car and into her house. "Gina, I'm home!" Not even bothering to take off her shoes, she ran into the open, waiting arms of her best friend, holding on for dear life. "I missed you soooo much!"

Regina grinned from ear to ear. "I missed you too, Emma. Why don't you go upstairs and take a bath before you come down and tell me about your day? There might even be milk and cookies waiting for you when you come down." The queen laughed as the girl excitingly ran up the stairs to rush into the bath tub.

Turning towards the waiting werewolf, she sighed. "Why don't we finish this conversation in the living room?"

Serving them both a glass of her famous apple cider she said, "I think this routine is what's best for Emma… don't you?"

Ruby nodded. "I do, keeping you from being anything close to familial is what's best for Emma. She is too young to understand that you two are romantic true loves and that destiny will bring you two together as a couple, so its best that we limit your time together to avoid those familial feelings from developing."

"I agree, Red. Thank you for doing this. I am so happy that Emma still gets a mother despite all of this." And she was. She would always want the best for Emma.

Ruby truly couldn't see the evil queen that had tried to kill her supposed best friend for years. All she saw was a woman with a warm, kind heart that was willing to do anything to protect the people she loved. Squeezing Regina's shoulder, she added, "I'm so happy we're on the same page, Regina. You are completely right, Emma does deserve what's best." Every day, she felt less guilty for allowing Emma to be neglected and emotionally abused by her parents because now, she could give Emma the family she needed.

Regina looked hesitant to say this, but she knew it needed to be done. "I think Emma should stay with you during the week and only see me on the weekends," Ruby looked surprised at this, but motioned for the queen to continue, "You are right, I do not want her to see me as anything more than a friend right now and for you to be the mother figure that Emma needs, she should stay with you." The queen took out two pieces of paper from her briefcase and set them down in front of the wolf. "I own two properties that would give you more than enough space to accommodate Emma and I will give you $1500 a month for any expenses she should need. I wouldn't ask this of you if I weren't thinking of Emma's best interest."

For the second time that night, Ruby did not recognize Regina as the Evil Queen that everyone knew and feared. She knew that Regina wasn't trying to pawn Emma off on her, but was really just putting Emma's well-being first. "Regina, I don't know how to properly thank you for caring about Emma way more than Snow ever did. I know she was supposed to be my best friend, but I can never forgive her for how she treated Emma and I am so grateful that Emma found you, because she will finally learn what it means to be loved for who _she_ is." And Ruby meant it. The love that Emma received from her parents was not unconditional, it was a cold, conditional, and constrained love that had left Emma wondering whether she truly mattered to anyone.

Looking the queen in the eyes, she said, "I would be honored to have Emma during the week. I will bring her to you on Friday night and pick her up on Sunday night. I am so grateful to you for caring about her."

Tears threatened to escape her eyes as she replied, "It's the way she should have been cared about her entire life."

Little did the two know, little ears were listening to their entire conversation. Emma herself had to silence her cries as she finally realized that there were people who loved her and wanted her to be happy.

Although she had gained more love (if possible) for the two most important people in her life, she also gained a hatred for the people she once referred to as her parents.,


End file.
